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Emery Atwood
Emery Grace Lansing (née Atwood) is the main character and female protagonist of the Beauty of the Dark series. She is the best friend, love interest, and wife of Jesse Lansing. She is a former exotic dancer and waitress. She is a successful writer. Emery's parents were as in love as two people could ever be. This prompted Emery to desire a 'love that would last forever', much like the one that her parents had. When they died, however, Emery's portrait of love was tarnished with the realization that love didn't last forever, as it hadn't with her parents. Nonetheless, she still pursued love because she still wanted to be loved, even if it wasn't forever. When she was raped, Emery lost all hope for any kind of love because she didn't believe that anyone could ever love her now that she was, in her eyes, "damaged". She refused to allow herself to love anyone in order to avoid the anticipated pain of rejection she knew would come when they learned of her dark past. After learning that she was pregnant with her assaulter's child, she ran away from home because she couldn't tolerate the emotional pain of the assault now that she was pregnant in a town where only pain resided for her. Emery is a member of the Atwood Family and Spring Family by birth and the Lansing Family by marriage. Early Life Emery Grace Atwood was born in Amherst, Virginia on May 15, 1992 to Harrison and Vanessa Atwood. She is the older sister of Nathan. From the age of 2, her mother had enrolled her in gymnastics. When she was six, a new family had moved in town. At school, Emery then met Jesse Lansing, and the two became quick friends. At the end of eighth grade, Jesse developed feelings for popular queen bee Charlotte Watson, something that angered Emery greatly, seeing as Charlotte was well known for "sleeping, but not keeping" and was fearful that she would hurt Jesse. Then, in the beginning of her freshman year of high school, her mother begged her to join the cheerleading squad, and Emery did so reluctantly. However, soon after making the team with her two best friends Lorena and Jasmine, her mother and father had tragically died in a car accident. Despite this, Emery decided to remain on the team in honor of her mother. After the deaths of her parents, Emery began to show a more fragile, vulnerable side of herself but learned that this played to her disadvantage as she was judged by many of her peers and teachers, who did not understand why she was taking so long to grief. However, she had a small group of friends whom supported her and understood her sudden change of behavior. Things began to look up for her when she had gotten accepted into the college of her dreams, Hollins University, where she planned to study Creative Writing. Hollins also was the alma mater of her parents, and where they met. 2010 On April 17, the night of her senior prom, Emery was snatched while walking home alone and then taken into the back of her captor's car where he raped her for thirty minutes. She fought hard against her assaultor but when she realized he had a knife, she gave up in fear of being killed. She was in a state of shock as she attempted to disassociate herself mentally from the situation as she imagined that she was still at prom. Eventually. Emery regained the courage to escape. After the assault, Emery returned home and immediately fled to her room, not willing to explain to Angie why she was home so early or why she was crying. After Angie realized something bad happened judging from Emery's appearance, Angie began to suspect that Emery had been raped. Still unable to speak, Emery slowly nodded. Angie comforted her, willing Emery to cry, to which Emery only began to silently weep. Over the next few weeks following the assault, Emery withdrew herself from her family and friends and stopped going to school as she sank into a state of numbness. Despite everything, she wasn't able to cry. Eventually, Emery learned that she was pregnant as a result of the rape. She was no longer able to hold any more pain in and broke down in a fit of crying. The doctor suggested she get an abortion, which Emery was abhorred at. Adoption was the next option, and Emery decided to think about it. Learning this news proved to be too much for Emery to handle emotionally, as she turned to self-harm and prescription drugs in attempt to release the pain. Her self-harm phase didn't last long as she realized it was too painful physically for her to handle. When she realized that the medication could harm her baby, she stopped immediately. She then realized that living in the town where the assault happened was too painful for her and decided that she had to leave in order to escape the pain. She then begged Angie to let her move in with her other aunt who lived upstate. Unfortunately, Angie denied this as it was too complicated and expensive to do so. Emery then realized that she had to leave home. Emery then met with her neighbor Mrs. Berry, who had leant her $3,000 in cash to flee town with. Emery then took the money and left town, unsure of where she was headed. Soon after leaving town, Emery pawned her phone and purchased a new one as well as a burner phone. Using the burner phone, she left a message to Angie telling her that she was safe, but she is not coming home and to not call the police, then dumped the phone. Angie did call the police despite Emery's request. However, they were unable to find her because Angie told the police that she most likely would head up to her paternal aunt's house, which was a dead end. Ending up in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, Emery slept in her car until her 18th birthday the following month as she couldn't legally rent an apartment yet, let alone make any large movements without getting arrested. During this time, she lived off of the vending machines outside of a Walgreens. Once she realized that she needed real food to support her baby, she began to sneak into the local food shelter each night. When she turned eighteen, Emery struggled to find a well-paying job that would allow her to both get a decent apartment and live off of while taking care of her pregnancy at the same time. One day, she came across an add for a local gentlemen's club called The Roaring Twenties. She applied for a job as a waitress and was immediately accepted. Eventually, she she sold her car for more money toward a house instead as she was gaining a lot of money from her job. Her boss, Noel Morrison, however, began to take a strange liking to her, which made Emery uncomfortable, but she put up with it due to the high-paying job. About a week after being accepted for the job, Emery called her aunt, brother, Lorena and Jasmine to tell them that she was alive and safe and that she wasn't coming home. Lorena and Jasmine then begged to see her, to which Emery declined. However, within a couple of days, the two of them tracked Emery down and showed up at her doorstep as she was leaving for work. She was shocked to see them, and they were shocked to see her life now, but demanded to know why she left town, and wouldn't leave until she told them. Emery finally confided in them about the reason behind her leaving town, but remained emotionally detached throughout the conversation and hadn't cried. Lorena and Jasmine decided to stay down in Richmond through Emery's pregnancy, much to her reluctance. However, she was thankful for their support. As she progressed through her pregnancy, she became more guarded and detached as she knew she couldn't keep her baby due to the mental, emotional and financial state she was in. She soon negotiated to adopt her son to her longtime friend. During the week before Christmas, Noel threw a holiday party. During the evening, he was very attentive of Emery, claiming it to be because she was in the last month of her pregnancy. However, Emery knew he was trying to move in on her. At the party, Emery felt very ashamed and embarrassed about her situation, surely knowing that the people who stared at her for the majority of the evening asked about her marital status. Despite this, Lorena and Jasmine attempted to cheer her up, succeeding eventually. The week after Christmas, on December 28, 2010, Emery went into labor at 2:00 am. Lorena and Jasmine, who were staying overnight at Emery's, drove her to the hospital, and while in the waiting room, called Emery's aunt and brother. Once the two arrived, Emery reluctantly admitted Angie and Nathan into the delivery room. With the support of her aunt and brother, Emery gave birth to a boy at 9:25 pm. When she saw him for the first time, Emery burst into tears of happiness and joy. When Nathan asked what the baby's name was, Emery then sobbed even harder, knowing that she couldn't provide a stable life for him herself and for realizing how hard it is to give him up. After giving her baby up for adoption, Emery sprung herself into her work as a distraction despite Noel's insisting that she stay home and recover. She also began to show more of a rebellious and carefree streak as an attempt to cope with the pain of giving up her son. She had been emotionally worn down from her parents' deaths, her rape becoming pregnant and giving birth, let alone giving her son up for adotption. She soon realizes that the only way to avoid pain is by not caring anymore. Noel began to ask her to perform shows when one of the dancers, Tara, begins a string of frequent absences. Eventually, Noel offers Emery a full-time job as a dancer, which she declines at first, only to accept eventually once she learns how much the dancers make. 2014 Emery is living in a small suburban house just on the edge of Richmond in a town called Montrose, much to the dismay of Lorena and Jasmine, who insisted they live with her. Emery declined their request in attempt to prove that she is 'fine' and didn't need to be babysat. She is doing well financially as a result of her position at the club, where she gathers a wealthy amount of tips almost nightly. She spends a fair portion of her earnings on clothes, cosmetics and accessories. She goes clubbing with her coworkers often. Every Saturday at three in the afternoon, her friend Caitlyn calls or emails her with updates on her now three and a half-year-old son, many of which she never responds to. This is Emery's only reminder of her past other than her C-Section scar, so she tries to avoid it as much as possible. Despite her determination to avoid caring, she nearly breaks down after every update. Once she realizes she is getting upset, she gathers herself together and attempts to brush her feelings off. Caitlyn offers repeatedly to bring her son over, but Emery declines. She gets frequent visits from Lorena and Jasmine, who are living in their own apartment more toward the city. She is often upset by these visits as she knows they are checking up on her to make sure she hasn't "checked out" again. Emery attempts to convince them, as well as herself, that she is "fine" in regards to her assault and giving her son up for adoption. However, this is anything but true. She experiences anxiety attacks as well as nightmares as a result of her assault. However, these episodes are only in response to significant triggers, which she keeps written down on a list of her fears so that she can know to avoid them. These fears are a result of the rape. In The Novels |-|The Beauty of the Dark= Emery and Jesse met again, and then they celebrate her birthday. Emery is seen..a mysterious woman named Carolyn Wright threatens Emery |-|Where There Is Light= Emery takes self-defense lessons with Alex, who teaches private lessons. Emery and Jesse are... Emery attended Richmond University and graduated. Personality Physical Appearance Relationships Appearances Name First *'Emery' is a feminine name of German origin derived from the surname Emmerich, which in turn was taken from the German amal, meaning "bravery" and ric, meaning "rule, power". The meaning of Emery is "brave ruler; brave power". Middle *'Grace' is a feminine name of Latin origin that means "happiness". Last *'Atwood' is a surname... Trivia *Other options for her name included Emma, Emily and Alyssa. *She has a good poker face due to her lying to people about herself over the years. *The reason she didn't apply for the position of a dancer was because of the unwanted physical attention they often got from customers. *Had she not experienced trauma prior to being assaulted, Emery may have went about handling her rape differently. *Jesse is the only one who doesn't believe that Emery is 'fine'. *Her favorite stores are Bebe and Forever 21. *She owns a diamond tennis bracelet from Tiffany & Co. This bracelet covers up her self-harm scar. This bracelet has since been removed as seen in the epilogue. *She owns a pair of heels from Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Prada and Michael Kors. *She owns a navy blue trench coat from Burberry that she wears to and from work. *She carries her work uniform and necessities in a purple Louis Vuitton that was given to her by Lorena. *The way that Emery's grief over her parents' deaths was received by her peers may have significantly influenced Emery's fear of rejection. Tropes *She is a reluctant Damsel In Distress. *She believes that she is Defiled Forever. *She suffered a A Fate Worse Than Death. *She has Rape As Backstory. *She was unknowingly part of a plan of Post Rape Taunt. *She is seen as a Sugar And Ice Girl. *She comes from a Dark And Troubled Past. *She is a Broken Bird. *She is in an Epiphanic Prison. *She is a Reluctant Fanservice Girl. *She is a Stripper With A Heart of Gold. *She is introduced with a "Break the Cutie" persona. *After her assault, she Stopped Caring about most things. *Her son is her Achille's Heel. *She believes that in order to move forward, Don't Look Back. *She is a victim of Revenge By Proxy. *She suffers a Bewildering Punishment. *She goes through the Five Stages Of Grief after losing her parents as well as after her assault. *Before her assault, she was known as the Girl Next Door. *She is Not With Him For The Money. *She is considered to be The Tragic Rose of the story. *She struggles with a Loss Of Identity. Quotes Gallery Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Main Characters Category:The Beauty of the Dark Characters Category:Where There Is Light Characters Category:Atwood Family Category:Lansing Family Category:Spring Family Category:Parents Category:Schmidt's Employees Category:The Roaring Twenties Employees